# Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace — how to choose without regrets

> Both are good, but they don't suit every company equally. Five questions that decide the choice, why it's hard to change later, and how AI prepares a decision summary for your situation in half an hour.

## Full disclosure first

IT Broliai mainly works with **Microsoft 365** — we set it up, look after it and
sell its licences. So this lesson isn't neutral.

So that you can trust it, we give you the questions that make for a fair
decision — and we tell you when Google Workspace is the better fit.

## The short answer

Both are good and secure. The difference isn't quality, but **who each one suits**.
And most importantly: if you already work in one and it works, switching is usually not worth it.

## Five questions that decide the choice

1. **What do your accountants and analysts work with?** Complex Excel spreadsheets, macros,
   exports from accounting software — a strong argument for Microsoft 365.
2. **How do you work together?** Co-editing documents works well in both.
   Google Docs often feels simpler; Microsoft 365 is stronger when documents are complex.
3. **Do you need device management and strict security?** Microsoft 365 Business Premium
   has device management, conditional access and advanced protection in one plan.
4. **What do people already know?** Habits are half the battle. A team that has
   worked with Google for years will be slower in Microsoft at first, and vice versa.
5. **Who will look after you?** What matters is that your IT partner knows that particular solution well.

> **Schema.** A chart for choosing: if the company works in the desktop Word and Excel apps every day, especially the accounting team, choose Microsoft 365. If not, either will do — choose based on what people already know and who will look after you. If you need device management and stricter security, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the best fit.

## When Google Workspace is the better fit

- The team is small, works mostly in the browser and doesn't like complicated settings.
- People are already used to Gmail and Google Docs.
- Complex Excel spreadsheets and desktop apps are hardly needed.

## AI on both sides

Both vendors have built AI into their business plans. A Microsoft 365 work account includes
**Copilot Chat**, and a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot licence adds Copilot working directly
inside the apps. Google Workspace business plans include **Gemini**. More in the lesson
[Which AI to choose for work](/en/lessons/which-ai-to-choose).

## Why the decision is hard to change

Moving is possible in both directions, but it's a project: email with its full history,
files and their sharing links, calendars, integrations with accounting and CRM,
and above all — people's habits. So it's worth spending an hour now rather than a week later.

## A decision summary in half an hour — prepared by AI

```text
You are an independent IT adviser. Help me choose between Microsoft 365
and Google Workspace for my company, and prepare a one-page decision summary.

ABOUT US
- Number of employees and line of business: [...]
- What we use now: [e.g. personal Gmail accounts, Excel, accounting
  software ..., nothing]
- What our accounting team works with: [...]
- Devices: [computers, phones, who looks after them]
- Special requirements: [e.g. NIS2, ISO 27001, client requirements]

PROCESS
1. ASK. Ask me the missing questions, one at a time.
2. COMPARISON. A table based on my needs: need → Microsoft 365 →
   Google Workspace → what matters to us.
3. RECOMMENDATION. Which plan to choose and why — in one sentence.
4. FIRST WEEK. A list: domain, accounts, MFA, file structure, training.

GOAL
The job is finished when I have a one-page summary I can show
management, and a to-do list for the first week.

RULES
- Don't invent prices or plan names. Mark anything that needs checking
  on the vendor's website.
- Be fair to both sides.
- Answer in English.

AT THE END
Separately — WHAT YOU DID NOT CHECK.
```

<div class="routes">
  <div class="route ai">
    <p class="route-label">🤖 AI route <span class="pill">recommended</span></p>
    <h4>AI asks the questions, you decide</h4>
    <p>Answer the AI's questions together with your accountant and the person who looks after IT.
      They're the ones who know where the real requirements lie.</p>
    <p><strong>Your job:</strong> check today's prices on the vendors' websites
      and make the decision.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="route manual">
    <p class="route-label">✋ Manual route</p>
    <h4>One table</h4>
    <ol>
      <li>Write down the five questions above and answer them for your company.</li>
      <li>Mark which answers point to Microsoft 365 and which to Google.</li>
      <li>Check both vendors' prices today for those plans.</li>
    </ol>
  </div>
</div>

<aside class="remedy">
  <p class="remedy-label">💊 The fix</p>
  <h3>Choose by how you work, not by what's in fashion.</h3>
  <p class="rule-line">The best solution is the one your people will use properly
    and someone will look after well.</p>
  <ul>
    <li><strong>One system for the whole company</strong> — not half Google, half Microsoft.</li>
    <li><strong>Work accounts from day one</strong> — not personal Gmail accounts for work.</li>
    <li><strong>MFA for everyone</strong> — see the lesson <a href="/en/lessons/passwords-and-mfa">Passwords and MFA</a>.</li>
    <li><strong>Order in your files</strong> — see the lesson <a href="/en/lessons/teams-onedrive-or-sharepoint">Where to save files</a>.</li>
  </ul>
  <p class="caveat">Prices and what each plan includes change — check the vendors' websites
    before you buy, or ask for a quote.</p>
</aside>

## What to do this week

1. Use the prompt above to prepare a decision summary.
2. If you already work in one of them — check that everyone has a work account and MFA.
3. If you're choosing for the first time — ask for a quote: **pagalba@itbroliai.lt**

## Check yourself

Five questions on what you've just read. At the end you'll get a certificate
with your score.